Putin running against US in election

A nasty spate of anti-Americanism set off by Vladimir V. Putin has grown into waves of attacks aimed at the new American ambassador and Russian opposition leaders, raising questions about the future of U.S.-Russian relations.

The attacks started just before the December parliamentary elections and have intensified as the March 4 presidential vote approaches. Although widely viewed as aimed primarily at a domestic audience, they have grown shriller and more aggressive, provoking debate about whether Russia is deliberately giving a cold shoulder to President Obama's effort to promote more productive relations.

A main target of the attacks is Michael McFaul, the new ambassador, a longtime democracy advocate and Russia expert who as a top aide to Obama has been an architect of what the White House calls a "reset'' with Moscow.

The anti-American campaign bears trademark Soviet and KGB thinking, reflecting the mindset of many of the high-level officials appointed by Putin as well as their efforts to protect their power and privileges from the gathering opposition.

U.S. officials say that they understand internal politics are behind the fusillade but that the effect remains worrying, raising concern about whether Russia recognizes the extent of the possible damage, simply doesn't care or is foreshadowing a change in foreign policy. "It's getting to the point where it's going to be hard to undo," said one administration official in Washington who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the issue publicly.

Anti-Americanism is always popular in Russia. The people blame America for their loss of empire and are bitter about what they see as American triumphalism in winning the cold war.

But Putin is taking anti-Americanism to a new level.

Among recent incidents was a confrontation outside the U.S. Embassy shortly after McFaul arrived in Moscow on Jan. 14. Opposition leaders who visited the embassy for an unannounced meeting with McFaul and visiting Deputy Secretary of State William Burns were accosted by a group of young people identifying themselves as television reporters demanding to know the purpose of the visit.

The exchange was shown on the main television channel and on the Internet with the suggestion that the Russian opposition was receiving its orders from the Americans. Opposition leaders say they suspect the incident was a setup facilitated by Russian government surveillance.

More recent Russian television broadcasts have included attacks describing McFaul as a promoter of revolution. The barrage reached a new level of offensiveness a few days ago when a video posted on the Internet drew comparisons between photos of the ambassador and those of a notorious pedophile.

"Putin is choosing worse relations with the West to keep himself in power," says Dmitri Oreshkin, a political analyst and writer who says that Putin is thinking short-term tactics rather than long-term strategy. "Of course it's a KGB mentality."

When one side shows itself to be over-eager in wanting better relations, the other side finds it too easy to take advantage of that mindset. Putin feels he can bash America with impunity because he knows Obama has invested a lot of political capitol in his "reset" of relations. He has no worries that America will abandon their current course - unless, of course, Obama is defeated in November. Then all bets are off and Putin may pay a price for his whipping up hatred against the US among the Russian people.

A nasty spate of anti-Americanism set off by Vladimir V. Putin has grown into waves of attacks aimed at the new American ambassador and Russian opposition leaders, raising questions about the future of U.S.-Russian relations.

The attacks started just before the December parliamentary elections and have intensified as the March 4 presidential vote approaches. Although widely viewed as aimed primarily at a domestic audience, they have grown shriller and more aggressive, provoking debate about whether Russia is deliberately giving a cold shoulder to President Obama's effort to promote more productive relations.

A main target of the attacks is Michael McFaul, the new ambassador, a longtime democracy advocate and Russia expert who as a top aide to Obama has been an architect of what the White House calls a "reset'' with Moscow.

The anti-American campaign bears trademark Soviet and KGB thinking, reflecting the mindset of many of the high-level officials appointed by Putin as well as their efforts to protect their power and privileges from the gathering opposition.

U.S. officials say that they understand internal politics are behind the fusillade but that the effect remains worrying, raising concern about whether Russia recognizes the extent of the possible damage, simply doesn't care or is foreshadowing a change in foreign policy. "It's getting to the point where it's going to be hard to undo," said one administration official in Washington who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the issue publicly.

Anti-Americanism is always popular in Russia. The people blame America for their loss of empire and are bitter about what they see as American triumphalism in winning the cold war.

But Putin is taking anti-Americanism to a new level.

Among recent incidents was a confrontation outside the U.S. Embassy shortly after McFaul arrived in Moscow on Jan. 14. Opposition leaders who visited the embassy for an unannounced meeting with McFaul and visiting Deputy Secretary of State William Burns were accosted by a group of young people identifying themselves as television reporters demanding to know the purpose of the visit.

The exchange was shown on the main television channel and on the Internet with the suggestion that the Russian opposition was receiving its orders from the Americans. Opposition leaders say they suspect the incident was a setup facilitated by Russian government surveillance.

More recent Russian television broadcasts have included attacks describing McFaul as a promoter of revolution. The barrage reached a new level of offensiveness a few days ago when a video posted on the Internet drew comparisons between photos of the ambassador and those of a notorious pedophile.

"Putin is choosing worse relations with the West to keep himself in power," says Dmitri Oreshkin, a political analyst and writer who says that Putin is thinking short-term tactics rather than long-term strategy. "Of course it's a KGB mentality."

When one side shows itself to be over-eager in wanting better relations, the other side finds it too easy to take advantage of that mindset. Putin feels he can bash America with impunity because he knows Obama has invested a lot of political capitol in his "reset" of relations. He has no worries that America will abandon their current course - unless, of course, Obama is defeated in November. Then all bets are off and Putin may pay a price for his whipping up hatred against the US among the Russian people.